NanoWriMo

Conversation overheard last night during Family Night while carving pumpkins:

Me: I have some exciting news to share with you guys.

Mr. Coleman: What? [pupils dilate, swallows dryly]

Micah: You're pregnant! [points at me and giggles]

Casey: You're having another baby?

Me: Uh, no. Did you know that November is National Novel Month?

Everybody else: [blank stares, eyes blink slowly]

Me: So, I signed up for this challenge to write a novel in a month. It's called "NanoWriMo". I'm starting November 1st and I set a goal to write 50 thousand words in one month.

Everybody else:

Me: I just want you to not expect as much from me the next month. And I'll be expecting you guys to help me out around here.

Micah: What do we have to do?

Me: Cooking, cleaning, laundry, ironing.

Mr. Coleman: So it will be just like normal.

Me:

Mr. Coleman: And WHY are you doing this?

Me: You'll just have to read my blog post about it.

So to answer Mr. Coleman's questions, I am doing this because I needed some extra motivation to finish what I started, and to complete one of my goals for 2009. Also, on the NanoWriMo website there is this perfect explanation:

"Art for art's sake does wonderful things to you. It makes you laugh. It makes you cry. It makes you want to take naps and go places wearing funny pants. Doing something just for the hell of it is a wonderful antidote to all the chores and "must-dos" of daily life. Writing a novel in a month is both exhilarating and stupid, and we would all do well to invite a little more spontaneous stupidity into our lives."

I am so excited to bust the rest of this story out. I plan on sharing excerpts from it on Fridays. Scary for me, but I think I am ready. I write longhand during the day, and then at night I type it in Word. I won't be working on this project on Sundays, so my goal is 2,000 words a day, for 25 days. Just typing that increased my heart rate.

So, November should be productive for me, but don't expect a lot from me next month, 'kay?

Photo is of my pretty red notebook where I jot down name ideas, take notes on the plants and climate of my world, and flesh out characters. It's where the magic happens.

Pearly Girl

She chooses crepes for breakfast and homemade pizza for dinner. We have small family birthday party at the house with vanilla cupcakes and six tall candles. Then we take a short trip to Kangaroo Zoo where all the kids jump until they're covered in sweat and Mr. Coleman and I watch.

And bust out a few dance moves to the boy bands playing on the speakers. It may sound crazy but it ain't no lie. Baby, BYE BYE BYE. So You Think You Can Dance: eat your heart out.

A Few Unrelated Thoughts

1. My waffle iron is shunned. Actually, no, it's worse than that. It's about to get dumped for something that can handle more than 1/4 cup of waffle batter without vomiting all over its own innards and my counter.

2. The picture at the top of the post is also unrelated to anything I have to say here.

3. I am getting my haircut. Short. What do you think of this style? I think I like it, but with shorter bangs. Or maybe shorter all over? I really need some suggestions. I've finally given up the fantasy that one day I will wake up with thick, long, wavy hair like a fairy tale heroine.

4. There are only 3 reasons that I am allowing Walmart to continue to exist:

1. Their nylon foot liners.

2. Their fruit snacks.

3. peopleofwalmart.com

5. I want a new camera in the worst way. Every time I check my sister's blog, and see her rad photog skills, I have to restrain myself from blowing the family budget on a new one. Will someone please send me a check for $1,000 so I can get the one I want. Thanks!

6. I cannot stop eating Milk Duds this week. Last week it was pesto. The week before: caffeine-free Diet Coke. Does anyone else do that?

What Matters Most

Last week, a friend, neighbor, and leader of our church's congregation (our bishop) passed away. At his funeral, his children talked about the kind of father he was. He was loved so deeply by so many. He was a man among men and his influence will always be felt in my life.

Last night, Casey Anne's musical theater teacher died in a tragic bus accident while trying to save the lives of her students on the bus.

Suddenly, so many things in my life seem to hold so little importance. Today I can't stop thinking about the legacy I will leave behind after I die. Will my family know that I loved them? Did I spend my time on things that mattered most? Am I making the most of my time here? Am I grateful for the people I love? Did I do enough?

Am I enough?

And I want to be. I'm trying. I just have to remind myself that life is a marathon, not a sprint.

I want to be able to declare like Paul: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness."

And feel as confident as Enos: "And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father."

And now, if you'll excuse me. Mr. Coleman just arrived back home, giving me a dusty kiss, after being outside in the dirt and wind for three days. I have important things to do.

Choeronycteris Colemanus

Want an idea for a cheap Halloween decoration? Make a bat tree. This cost me nothing, since we already had about 9 cans of black spray paint hanging out in the shop.

1. Gather twigs.

2. Cut out bats from junk mail paper [use a whole punch for the eyes].

3. [optional] Buy birds in assorted colors from your local craft store. I already had these.

4. Spray paint everything black [outside, on the grass].

5. Apologize to your husband for the black spots on the grass and convince him it adds to the "spooky Halloween ambience" of your exterior. Offer to mow the grass if that doesn't work.

6. Fill a container [I used a vase] with something heavy i.e. rocks or sand.

7. Add your twigs.

8. Tie your bats on with black thread through the eye holes.

9. Attach your birds. I left some orange.

10. Ta da!

Reason #245

Reason #245 why having kids is the best thing that ever happened to me: Casey slips me this note in the middle of a long day of piano lessons. Suddenly my stuffy nose and raw throat don't bother me as much and I laugh through the rest of the day.

Here she is on the first day of school. I love age ten, because she still likes me and hasn't realized I don't have all the answers yet. Plus, she babysits and finishes her jobs without being asked.

p.s. Flashback week is postponed until after Christmas. I headed downstairs to find my photo albums, got sidetracked organizing boxes in the basement, and before I knew it a week had gone by. Not to mention that I've had TWO I Have To Return To High School For Some Terrible Reason Nightmares this week. I think I liked high school more than the average person, but still, the idea of returning now at my age is not ever cool.

When I go to visit AZ during Christmas Break I'll steal my photo albums back from my mom. Until then, we'll have to make do with pictures from the current decade or so.